Catholic Church criticizes amnesty proposal in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Catholic Church leaders in El Salvador have condemned a proposal being considered by lawmakers that would grant amnesty to those who committed serious crimes during the country's civil conflict in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Episcopal Conference of El Salvador said in a statement Sunday that it would be an "unjust" law that would protect the perpetrators of heinous crimes while offering no reparations or protections for victims of human rights abuses.

The constitutional arm of El Salvador's Supreme Court ordered the congress in 2016 to draft a new reconciliation law by July 2019 that would lead to truth, justice and reparations for victims of the conflict.

More than 75,000 people were killed and 10,000 others went missing during the decade-long conflict in the Central American country.